Universal Short Title Catalog (USTC)

The Universal Short Title Catalog (USTC) holds records for European books printed through the sixteenth century. Records list locations of original copies. If open-access digital copies are available, these are also noted.

The USTC web site describes itself as “a collective database of all books published in Europe between the invention of printing and the end of the sixteenth century.”

The project also offers 6-8 week internships at St. Andrews for

qualified scholars wishing to gain experience of work with a major bibliographical project. Successful applicants will receive instruction in rare books cataloguing and have the chance for hands-on experience with the University Library’s uncatalogued 17th century collections. In addition to physical bibliography, the internship will involve extensive practice in the manipulation of digital resources. A certificate of completion or letter of reference will be made available to those successfully completing the internship. They also attend our annual book conference, held at the end of June (this coming year, 19-21 June 2014).

Please see St. Andrews’ internship page for details. Plans are underway to expand coverage into the seventeenth century.

One Response to “Universal Short Title Catalog (USTC)”

Thanks, Anna. The progression of this project is interesting. I especially appreciate its modest beginnings that have, in turn, produced careful, measured growth. ProQuest is one of the sponsors, and I wonder about the ties between the UTC and ProQuest’s Early European Book Projects. I believe the ProQuest project also started with French Books.